Folding mechanism.



PATBNTBD DEC. 5, 1905. J. 0. P. BALZE. FOLDING MECHANISM. APPLICATIONFILED I'EB.1,1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

PATENTED DEC. 5, 1905.

J. 0. F. BALZE. FOLDING MECHANISM APPLIUATION FILED PEBJ 2 SHEETS-8HBET2.

UNI E STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. F. BALZE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ROBERT HOE,

' OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FOLDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Dec. 5, 1905.

Application filed February 1, 1904. Serial No. 191,471.

To all whom it may concern: a

-Be it known that I, JOHN C. F. 'BALZE, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, county of- New York. and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Mechanisms,fully described and represented in the following specification and theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of the same. i

This invention relates to certain improvemerits in folding'mechanisms.

A type of folding mechanism ordinarily employed, more particularly inconnection with fast rotary presses, comprises ,a rotating carrierhaving a pair of nipping-jaws thereon, and a cooperating rotatingcarrierhaving a movable tucking-blade mounted thereon, said tucking-bladeoperating to tuck a fold of the paper between the nipping-jaws, whichare actuated to seize it. In the constructions heretofore usuallyemployed thenipping-jaws are located behind or inside thecircumferential lineof the carrier, and the tucker-blade, whichcooperates with these jaws, is ordinarily mounted behind thecircumferential line of its carrier and is protruded from this positionat the proper time by suitable actuating mechanism. In the-operation ofsuch a folder the tucking-blade tucks the fold ofthe paper inside thecircumferential line of the cylinder in which the nipping-jaws aremounted, or,

in other words, the operative part of the tucking-blade during thefolding operation extends entirely beyond the circumferential line ofits own carrier and lies wholly within the circumferential line of thecarrier for the nipping-jaws. It will be understood, of course, that theoperative part of the tucking-blade when the blade is protruded isrunning faster than the circumference of its carrier, because itsoperative partlies farther from the center of rotation of the carrierthan the circumference. As this operative part reaches into the recessbetween thenipping-jaws it is brought into contact with parts of thenipping-jaws, which lie behind the circumferenceof their carrier andwhich are consequently running slower than the circumference of theircarrier, because they are nearer the center. It being understood, ofcourse, that the circum ferences of the two carriers are moving at thesame speed, it will be seen that the operative part of the tucking-blade.on account of its of nipping-jaws.

nipping-jaws and tend to pry the paper out of' the aws. When the foldersare running at high speeds, this tendency on the part of the"tucker-blade to pry open the nipping-jaws is such as to seriouslyinterfere with the operation of the mechanism.

The present invention has for its object to produce an improved foldingmechanism com- I prising a tucking-blade and a fold-retainer, theconstruction being such that the tendency of the tucking-blade to prythe paper out of theretainer is :overcome.

With this and other objects not specifically referred to in view theinvention consists in certain constructions and in certain parts,improvements,-and combinations, as will be hereinafter fully describedand then specifically pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

Referring to thecaccompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a frontelevation ofso much of a folding and delivery mechanism of a printingmachine as isnecessary to enable the invention to be understood. Figs. 2, 3, and 4are diagrammatic views illustrating the operation of the folder. 1 7

Referring to said drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, 1 indicates the frame of the machine in which the-severalparts hereinafter referred to are mounted. The folding mechanismwillcomprise two folding members, one of which carries a tucking-blade ortucker and the other a fold-retainer'such, for instance, as a pair.

The construction of these folding members and the means by which theyare operated may be Jwidely varied. One of the members, however, must atthe time of the folding operation travel in a curved path. In theconstruction selected to embodythis invention two carriers are employed,these carriers consistingof cylinders 2 3, which are mounted on shafts45, suitably supported'in the frame and driven by any'suitablemechanism. (Not shown.) The web of paper is marked Wand is shown asbeing delivered between the cylinders referred to by a pair of rollers 67 these rollers, as shown, being the ordinary drawing-off rollers of alongitudinal folder. In the construction shownpart of the sheets whichare cut from the web and folded are carried to one delivery and part toanother, so that each of the cylinders 2 3 is provided with atucking-blade and a fold-retainer, the particular construction of theseblades and jaws in the machine selected to illustrate the inventionbeing hereinafter fully set forth.

The fold-retainer will consist of a pair of movable jaws which in theiroperation nip the fold of paper between them, the paper which forms thefold being by reason of the fact that both jaws are movable drawn inequally from both sides. In the construction illustrated thefold-retainer comprises two movable jaws 8 and 9, these jaws beingmounted on shafts 10 and 11, suitably supported in the carrier, theseshafts being intergeared by means of segments 13 14:. Theoperating-faces of these jaws are preferably roughened slightly, asshown, so that they may more reliably nip the fold of the paper. Themeans by which the jaws are operated may be of any desired character. Asshown, the shaft 11 is provided with an arm 15, carrying a roll 16, thisroll running on a suitable cam 17, as is usual in such nipping-jawconstructions. The jaws are closed by the usual spring-rod construction,(indicated at 18, )though any other means may be substituted for thisclosing means.

The cooperating tucking-blade or tucker may be of any desiredconstruction and may be either stationary or movable, as desired. In thepreferred construction and, as shown, however, this tucker will be astationary tucker and will consist of a blade 19, held in position inthe cylinder by means of a setscrew 20 or in any other suitable manner.

The jaws and tuckers are so arranged that the pitch-line will fall onthe blade intermediate its root and outer operative edge and on the jawsinside or below their outer edges. The best results will be attainedwhere the jaws and blades are so related to each other that this line ishalf-way between the outer operative edge of the blade and its root andhalf-Way between the outer edges of the jaws and the parts opposite theouter edge of the blade when the same has entered between the jaws toits fullest extent. It is to be understood, however, that good resultsmay be obtained with constructions which vary from this arrangement. Inthe construction illustrated in the drawings the jaws, instead of havingtheir outer edges flush or substantially flush with the surface of thecarriers 2 3, as has been the case in prior constructions, are caused toproject from the carrier, as is clearly indicated in the various figuresof the drawings, the top edges being in the best constructions roundedslightly, as shown. Inasmuch as the cylinders which form the carriersfor the jaws and blade run in the construction shown substantially incontact, these cylinders are provided with recesses 21, in which theblades 19 are located, these recesses being concave to readily receivethe convex rounded surfaces of the jaws at the time when the foldingoperation takes place. WVith this construction it will be readilyunderstood that the line which has been heretofore termed thepitch-line, by analogy to gearing of the two carriers, will when thejaws and tucker are in their engaged position, as is shown in Fig. 3,for instance, cut the jaws between their outer edges and the centeraround which they move and will cut the tucking blade midway between itsoperative edge and its root, so that the tendency of the blade to pryopen the jaws because of its moving faster than the jaws will be greatlyreduced. In the best constructions, furthermore, the blade of the tuckerinstead of being made very thin, as heretofore, will be madecomparatively thick, and its two sides will be beveled oil, as isclearly shown in the drawings. In other words, the tucking-blade isconstructed on the same principle as the tooth of a gear, said tooth, asis well known, having its flanks beveled. Vith this construction, withwhich the best results will be realized, the tucker-blade rolls into andout of engagement with the jaws of the fold-retainer in the same mannerthat gear-teeth roll into and out of engagement with each other, andwith this construction the tendency of the tucker to pry open the jawsof the retainer is almost entirely obviated.

In the constructions in ordinary use the paper travels on a line whichis intermediate the circumference of the two cylinders, and the paper istucked by the tucker out of this line, the loop made by the tucker beingformed inside the circumference of the carrier for the jaws, so that allparts of the loop travel slower than the circumference of thecylinderwhich carries the jaws. In the construction illustrated, however, thepaper is deflected by the outer convex surface of the jaws of thefoldretainer toward the tucker. and the tucker forms the loop or fold inthis deflected portion, so that a part of the loop lies outside thecircumference of the cylinder which carries the jaws and a part of itlies inside. In the construction shown, the paper, as has been beforeindicated, comes from the drawing-off rolls of the longitudinal folderand is cut into sheets, the folding-cylinders 2 3 acting, as is usual insuch constructions, as cutting-cylinders also, each cylinder beingprovided with a knife, the recess for which is marked 25, and thecorresponding cutting-blocks are marked 26. Each of these cylinders isalso provided with the usual pins 27 for receiving the heads of thesheets. The pins are operated by the usual pin-operating mechanism,(indicated in dotted lines in the figures,) said mechanism being of awell-known form which it is unnecessary to describe. In thisconstruction, one sheet is taken by one of the cylinders and is carriedoff to a delivery, and the other sheet is taken by the other cylinder.The sheet which is taken and folded by the cylinder 2 is delivered to adelivery-cylinder 28, the fold of the sheet being taken by grippers 29of the usual form. The operating mechanism for these grippers isindicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and as it is of usual form it isunnecessary to describe it. The folded sheet is cut by the usual slittermechanism 30, and is then delivered in any suitable manner-as, forinstance, on a running belt 31the delivery of the sheet being assistedby a stripper 32 of the usual character. The sheet taken and folded bythe cylinder 3 is delivered to a delivery-cylinder 33, having grippers34, and is delivered by it to a belt 35, the delivery being assistedby astripper 36, and the folded sheet being, as in the case of the othercylinder,-cut by a slitter mechanism 37. Changes and variations may bemade in the construction by which this invention is carried into effect.The invention is not, therefore, to be confined to the specificconstructions herein shown and described.

What is claimed is l. In a folder, a pair of rotating carriers, one ofsaid carriers being provided with a foldretainer comprising a pair ofjaws and the other a tucking-blade, and means for moving the jaws to nipthe fold, the retainer and blade during the folding operation being eacharranged to lie partly within the pitch-line of the carriers,substantially as described.

2. In a folder, the combination with a rotating carrier having a recesstherein extending behind the pitch-line and a tucking-blade mountedwithin the recess of thecarrier and arranged when in operation toproject-beyond the pitch-line, of a second carrier, a fold-retainercomprising a pair of jaws mounted on the second carrier and'projectingbeyond the pitch-line, the fold-retainer during the fold ing operationentering the recess in the tucking-blade cooperating carrier, and meansfor moving the jaws to nip.the fold, substantially as described. 3. In afolder, the combination with a rotating carrier having a fold-retainercompris ing a pairof jaws arranged to project beyond the pitch-line, andmeans for moving the jaws to nipthe fold, of a second rotating carrierhaving a tucker arranged to project beyond the pitch line, the tuckerhaving beveled faces, said tucker and fold-retainer duringthe foldingoperation each partly extending beyond the pitch-line of the carriers,substantially as described.

4;. In a folder, the combination with a folding-cylinder having a recesstherein extending behind its pitch-line, of a tucker having beveledfaces mounted thereon, said tucker extending beyond the pitch-line, asecond cylinder having a fold-retainer mounted thereon and extendingbeyond the pitch-line, said retainer comprising a pair of jaws, andmeans for moving the jaws to nip the fold, the fold-- retainer duringthe folding operation enter-' ing the'recessin the cylinder carrying thetucker and the tucker and folder during this operation each lying acrossthe pitch-line of the cylinders, substantially as described.

5. In a'folder, the combination with a folding-cylinder having a recesstherein extending behind its pitch-line, of atucker mounted therein'andstationary with respect thereto,

said tucker having beveled faces and extend-.

ing beyond the pitch-line, a second cylinder having a fold-retainermounted thereon and extending beyond the pitch-line, said retainercomprising a pair of aws, and means for moving the jaws to nip the fold,the fold-retainer during the folding operation entering the recess inthe cylinder carrying the tucker and the tucker and folder during thisoperation each lying across the pitch-line of the cylinders,substantially as described.

Intestimony whereof I have hereunto 'set my hand inthe presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

1 JOHN (3. R'BALZE.

Witnesses:

F. W. H. CRANE, EDWARD C. WEIssMAN.

